Sabrina Bryan, Fiona Mahan and Emily Hanrahan found the net, and the Pittsburgh Riveters continued their stingy defensive run with a fourth straight shutout to defeat Erie Sports Center, 3-0, tonight at F.N.B. Stadium.
Lexi Grundler made two saves for her third clean sheet of the season for the Riveters (5-0-1), who have not allowed a goal in 369 consecutive minutes.
Erie (1-4-0) goalkeeper Morgan Sinan was strong under pressure by making 10 saves for the visitors.
• First half
The Riveters tried to open the floodgates early when Lola Abraham drove a ball from near the right sideline toward goal, hitting the crossbar in the sixth minute.
The early pressure eventually led to a 16th-minute goal, when Abraham slipped a pass between defenders to Bryan. With Sinan coming off her line, Bryan chopped the ball across her body, causing her defender and the goalkeeper to make contact and opening up a clear shot toward goal.
Bryan had a chance for a second in the 31st minute, but this time Sinan won the 1-on-1 battle with a save, and Bryan could not put an off-balance second effort on frame. Hanrahan also got one late chance to get through on goal, but she also was denied by Sinan.
• Second half
Abraham slalomed through defenders just 30 seconds after play resumed, but her chance to get 1-on-1 with the keeper was denied by a sliding tackle from Audrey Eckwahl.
The Riveters finally doubled the lead in the 57th minute when Anna Korney drove toward the goal line and cut the ball back. Abraham wisely let the pass continue behind her where Mahan was waiting, and the midfielder fired home her first goal as a Riveter from the top of the box.
The wait for another goal was a brief one, as a minute later, Abraham sent another teammate alone toward goal. This time it was Hanrahan on the end of the pass, and she finished for her second goal in as many matches.
The Riveters struck the crossbar for the second time in the 77th minute when Lilly Bane rose high to head a left-footed cross from Mahan off the bar, but no more goals were to come from the remaining chances and a flurry of late corner kicks, of which the Riveters had 11 in the match.
• Hitachi Player of the Match
Lola Abraham didn’t find the net herself on four shots in the match, but the crafty forward played a role in all three Riveters goals with assists on the first and third while wisely making the decoy run on the second.
• What’s next?
Neither team gets time to rest, as the same two sides meet up again at 6 p.m. Sunday night at McConnell Family Stadium in Erie, Pa. Another victory could move the Riveters within a game of clinching a repeat of their Great Forest Division title, depending on other results over the weekend.
THE ASYLUM
Riveters roll on another shutout
Sabrina Bryan, Fiona Mahan and Emily Hanrahan found the net, and the Pittsburgh Riveters continued their stingy defensive run with a fourth straight shutout to defeat Erie Sports Center, 3-0, tonight at F.N.B. Stadium.
Lexi Grundler made two saves for her third clean sheet of the season for the Riveters (5-0-1), who have not allowed a goal in 369 consecutive minutes.
Erie (1-4-0) goalkeeper Morgan Sinan was strong under pressure by making 10 saves for the visitors.
• First half
The Riveters tried to open the floodgates early when Lola Abraham drove a ball from near the right sideline toward goal, hitting the crossbar in the sixth minute.
The early pressure eventually led to a 16th-minute goal, when Abraham slipped a pass between defenders to Bryan. With Sinan coming off her line, Bryan chopped the ball across her body, causing her defender and the goalkeeper to make contact and opening up a clear shot toward goal.
Bryan had a chance for a second in the 31st minute, but this time Sinan won the 1-on-1 battle with a save, and Bryan could not put an off-balance second effort on frame. Hanrahan also got one late chance to get through on goal, but she also was denied by Sinan.
• Second half
Abraham slalomed through defenders just 30 seconds after play resumed, but her chance to get 1-on-1 with the keeper was denied by a sliding tackle from Audrey Eckwahl.
The Riveters finally doubled the lead in the 57th minute when Anna Korney drove toward the goal line and cut the ball back. Abraham wisely let the pass continue behind her where Mahan was waiting, and the midfielder fired home her first goal as a Riveter from the top of the box.
The wait for another goal was a brief one, as a minute later, Abraham sent another teammate alone toward goal. This time it was Hanrahan on the end of the pass, and she finished for her second goal in as many matches.
The Riveters struck the crossbar for the second time in the 77th minute when Lilly Bane rose high to head a left-footed cross from Mahan off the bar, but no more goals were to come from the remaining chances and a flurry of late corner kicks, of which the Riveters had 11 in the match.
• Hitachi Player of the Match
Lola Abraham didn’t find the net herself on four shots in the match, but the crafty forward played a role in all three Riveters goals with assists on the first and third while wisely making the decoy run on the second.
• What’s next?
Neither team gets time to rest, as the same two sides meet up again at 6 p.m. Sunday night at McConnell Family Stadium in Erie, Pa. Another victory could move the Riveters within a game of clinching a repeat of their Great Forest Division title, depending on other results over the weekend.
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